The Cabin

There wasn't much to do on the way up, the long drive have eerily taken most of the energy out of Debbie. 1

She twisted her finger in her long blonde hair while staring out of the window at the snow covered trees, whizzing past.2

She opened her mouth wide to yawn... when there was a bump and a hard jolt throwing Debbie forward so hard that she bit her tongue.3

"How wong is whis foing to fake?" Debbie tried to say through her pulsating mouth,4

"We’ve just come off the main, so another 30 minutes." Her mother said in the driver seat of the truck5

"Finally," she breathed.6

It had been a long drive up to the cabin. They lived in an industrial part of a busy close knit community in a large city far down south. Her mother thought it would be good to get away once and a while… thus she rented the most rickety, smallest wood cabin she could find, no electricity, no phone connection, barely running water. Completely separated form civilization, she could just imagine it.7

But she really didn’t want to…8

Her mum stopped the car and stepped out in one triumphant movement,9

“Here we are,” she said in a sort of sing song tone.10

Debbie opened the door, stepped out, slipped on a patch of ice and landed face first in the snow. And it wasn’t the soft kind of snow either; it was that hard newly frozen stuff that is quite hard to land on…11

Debbie grumbled and began to proceed and unload the truck.12

She placed the purple suitcase at the bottom of the hard uncomfortable looking bed. She stared long and hard at the green, white and yellow bed spread; eventually it gave her a brain ache. The small damp smelling room came with matching curtains, which were shut at the moment. But she didn’t think it would have mattered there just would have been a wall of trees that wasn’t in her mind much of a view.13

She walked into the kitchen. Her mum was standing at the kitchen sink.14

“How very odd,” she mumbled,15

“What mum?” Debbie asked raising an eyebrow. Walked to the sink beside her and peering into the sink.16

Her mum was startled to see her.17

“Oh… Debbie, yes nothing it’s just…” her mum trailed off.18

“What?”19

“Well the cabin… I made sure it did have running water… and the taps aren’t working.”20

Debbie raised her eyebrow at the sink again.21

“Oh well,” her mother said “won’t let this spoil our fun, well just tell the ranger when he pops around, go get some fire wood from outside would you dear…”22

Debbie did as she was told and walked around the corner to the front door. The stopped and put her head around the corner.23

“Mum?”24

“Yes dear?”25

“When does the ranger come around?”26

“Tomorrow, mid day.”27

“TOMORROW!” Debbie shouted in disgust.28

“Fire wood...” her mum said sternly.29

Debbie stomped out the room….30

Her boots crunched in the hard snow as she walked to the back of the cabin. the further around she went the closer the trees seemed to get to her. Her hot breathe swirled in a fog in front of her as she hugged her self for warmth. There seemed to be pattern of her footstep sound.31

She only noticed that when it was broken by an additional crunch that wasn’t hers. She span around…32

Nothing. 33

Except of course her own foot prints and the wisp of the falling snow flakes.   34

Hesitantly, she turned and began walking again and stopped.35

Then ‘crunch’.36

She span around again. She scanned the tree line.37

Nothing.38

She turned to the wood. Her heart pumping fast. Her breathing denser. She calmed down and picked up a small log, brushing the layer of settled snow on it, off. It was odd she wasn’t usually jumpy person.39

‘Crunch.’40

She didn’t turn this time. She just stayed still. Deadly still. 41

The sound was much closer than before... much…. Louder.42

Thoughts of monsters stirred in her brain.  She shook the thoughts free and after awhile dismissed her thoughts. 43

After all, there were animals in the woods around, squirrels perhaps. 44

Again she turned back to the logs. Once she had five in her arms she turned and began her trek back to around the front of the house.45

The path seemed to grow longer in front of her. The snow fall was getting heavier so she blamed that. She was comforted again by the crunch sound of her own foot steps which she could hear through her red furry ear muffs. She adjusted the logs, which squeaked against her light blue puffer jacket.46

‘Crunch’ again out of tune with the others. 47

Debbie walked faster. Trying to dismiss it again.48

Then there was another from behind her. 49

And another… getting louder, closer.50

She was jogging now her breathe becoming more fast… crunch, crunch, CRUNCH! 51

She turned the corner and ran in side slamming the door, the logs spilled onto the floor with a rumble.52

“What the...” Her mum appeared from the kitchen.53

“What time did you say the rangers coming?” Debbie said breathing heavily.54

“Tomorrow, why did you see something?”55

“Not exactly,”56

“Humm, well I’ll give him a ring on my mob..,”57

“No, no its ok, probably a squirrel or some thing,”58

“You sure?”59

“Yer.”60

Last thing Debbie wanted was some ranger thinking she wanted was some person thinking she was scared of a little squirrel.61

Debbie was woken by a scratching noise. She opened her eyes. And lay there.62

Perfectly still.63

‘Stupid squirrel’ she thought trying to laugh it off. The scratching noise got louder. Then the sound of something heavy scrambling across the roof. She turned and stared at the curtains. Suddenly a light illuminated them from the outside. It was the porch light that was sensor activated. ‘Big squirrel?’64

Suddenly a large shadow passed the window seemed to fall from the roof to the ground. The wall gave a large thump.65

‘Don’t squirrels hibernate this time of year?’66

She sat up, there was another thump,67

“Mum?” she said loudly.68

She got up and pulled a thick purple fleece on, jeans and her boots. 69

The door creaked. Then slowly opened.70

Debbie froze heart in her throat. It opened wide. And exposed the dimly lit lounge. The embers in the fire still glowed and the porch light shone through a gap in the curtain.71

The front door hung ajar, snow flakes swirled in the light that poured in. Her mother’s boots were gone. Debbie breathed a sigh of relief. Went over and pushed the door closed… 72

The was a loud, familiar scream… her mums scream. Not that she’d heard her mums scream before it just sounded like her voice.73

Was she hearing things? 74

It happened again. Breathing heavily she opened the door and ran out.75

“Mum!”76

Nothing.77

No response, at lest that’s what she thought. The scream seemed very distant. But the truck was still parked to the side of the cabin. She glanced at the light blue motor which had a thick sheet of snow on it and red ice on the door...78

Red ice?79

Debbie gasped. There were two hand prints one smeared the other perfect, glinting in frozen excellence on the window. And red flecks mixed with the white on the door. 80

Standing rooted to the spot on the porch Debbie forgot how to breathe. She clamped her hand to her mouth.81

Her silence was interrupted by a high pitched, gravelly, deep growl from above.82

She would have stayed still but her body made a dash for the inside of the cabin, leaving her mind on the porch. Warm fear swept over her cold body as she began to feel sick. 83

There was a scramble, like claws on a wood floor then, a metallic crash coming from the kitchen. Debbie felt as if her heart had made itself up to her brain and was thumping in there. 84

She knew what a stupid thing to do it was, but still she edged towards the corner and stuck her head around the corner. 85

The kitchen draw was lying out and utensils sprawled all over the pine floor. Debbie stared in wonder. When she heard a scraping sound…86

She glanced up, screamed and ducked out of the kitchen. A knife hit the wall where her head had been with a clang it stuck deep into the wall. Something gave a high pitch, grating giggle. She ran out of the house. The sky was growing lighter.87

Sunrise.88

She only had to wait a little longer and the ranger would come and help her look for her mum and save her…..89

The growl, much louder than before.90

Debbie hadn’t realised how far she was from the porch she was on thick snow now about 4 feet from it she knew even though she couldn’t see it, she was facing the wrong way.91

The growl sounded again from behind.92

She span around, fists clenched. She stared at the front door.93

Nothing.94

She relaxed abit that is until; the next growl drew her attention to the roof of the cabin. She screamed.95

On it crouched a figure, shrouded in shadows that coated its features but still, in the dim light you could just about make it out and the texture of its skin. It was like bark, a deep green or that’s what it seemed. Its long greasy hair was matted with leaves and dirt but it still seemed to move eerily without aid of wind. 96

Its round white eyes mimicked the roundness of its head.97

It gave a wide smile.98

Rows of pointed yellow teeth, stained with fresh blood and moss… a long piece of drool fell from its mouth, saliva and fresh blood. It turned its head at her. Exposing a shadowy pointed ear.99

She stepped back stumbled on a patch of ice and fell backward on to the snow still looking up at the horrific creature. It laughed again. 100

It jumped from the cabin roof and landed on all fours, its long skinny rough body exposed by the light. Debbie was frozen, glued to the spot by some invisible force which softened when the sound of a motor was heard.101

Light illuminated the cabin the creature gasped and ran. The motor stopped and the last thing Debbie heard was footsteps before the stress of it all gave way and she fainted.102

Debbie had repeated her story about ten times in the last month, now she sat in a white room that smelt of disinfectant and with the muffled voices outside her door; she had come to one conclusion…. Not one person had believed her. She stared blankly at the door frame…103

‘The Mother was found mutilated at the back of the cabin’104

‘What did she say?’ 105

‘A monster did it,’106

‘Do you believe she’s lying?’107

‘No.’108

‘No?’109

‘But I don’t believe she’s telling the truth either.’110

Debbie couldn’t believe what was happening, she missed home her friends but most of all she missed her mum. She really wished she knew what had occurred that night she gathered what had happened to her mum,111

But why? 112

How?113

Well at least, she thought, she was safe now. 114

But a high pitched gravely deep growl from the corner of the room told her differently.115

She slowly turned her head.116

Nothing.117

Another growl alerted her attention upward. Up in the corner, supported but its long claws. The green, rough skinned creature loomed.118

And as it lunged at her it laughed. 119

A high pitched evil laugh...120